Rock of Ages (video game)
Rock of Ages | |
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![]() Xbox 360 digital cover | |
Developer(s) | ACE Team |
Publisher(s) | Atlus USA |
Engine | Unreal Engine 3 |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
Release | Xbox 360
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Genre(s) | Tower defense, racing |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Rock of Ages is a tower defense racing video game developed by ACE Team and published by Atlus USA. It uses the Unreal Engine 3. The game was released for Xbox 360 in August 2011, for Microsoft Windows in September 2011, and for PlayStation 3 in May 2012.
Gameplay[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Rock_of_Ages_-_Renaissance.jpg/260px-Rock_of_Ages_-_Renaissance.jpg)
The game combines tower defense strategy with a rolling ball mechanic similar to games such as Marble Madness and Super Monkey Ball. Players must use a large stone boulder to attack an enemy's castle at the bottom of the hill, while using various defensive structures to defend their own castles. Players can use a variety of obstacles to defend the path leading up to the castle, such as buildings, dynamite, windmills and animals. Players can also plant money farms in order to raise the funds needed to use certain objects. The player can only add obstacles on green colored landscapes, which turn unusable when obstacles or money farms are planted on top of them. When ready to attack, the player can take control of a boulder and roll it down the hill, avoiding obstacles in order to attack the enemy castle's gate. If players have enough points, they can equip their boulders with power-ups, such as armor or magma, which enhance a boulder's defensive or offensive capabilities, though they will lose this power up if the boulder takes sufficient damage. Once the boulder hits the gate, or their boulder breaks after taking too much damage, there is a small recharge period before another boulder can be launched. The player wins if they can break through the castle gates and place his boulder in the center of the castle, killing the opponent.[1]
The game includes a story mode, which is loosely based on the myth of Sisyphus and features various stages, boss levels, and several multiplayer modes. "War" features two players attempting to break each other's castle gates, whilst "Skee Boulder" requires players to race down a lane hitting targets before landing in a skeeball-style board while attempting to land their boulder in the target with the largest score multiplier.[2]
Rock of Ages features a chronology which spans across five time periods: Ancient Greek, Medieval, Renaissance, Rococo and Romanticism.[3] Each time period features a unique, Pythonesque art style during gameplay. The team narrowed their selection to these five periods from a larger pool of 16 time periods which included Neoclassic, Prehistoric, and Impressionism.[3]
Pebble of Time[]
As a prank for April Fool's Day 2011, ACE Team created a page for a fake independent developer[4] in which the developer claimed in broken English that he had been working on an indie title called Pebble of Time for the past eight years, and that ACE Team had stolen his concept. The developer claimed he was releasing his title for free to undercut support for Rock of Ages, and provided download links for his working prototype. Edmundo Bordeu later updated the site to reflect that it was indeed an April Fool's joke.[5]
Reception[]
Rock of Ages received favorable to mixed reviews upon its release. It holds an average of 72/100 for the Xbox 360 version, 74/100 for the PC version and 68/100 for the PlayStation 3 version on Metacritic.[6][7][8] Inside Gaming Awards gave the game its 2011 Most Original Game award.[9]
Sequels[]
A sequel, titled Rock of Ages 2: Bigger & Boulder, which introduces a new four-player multiplayer mode, was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in August 2017,[10] and on Nintendo Switch in May 2019.[11] Rock of Ages III: Make & Break was announced to be released July 21, 2020 on Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Stadia.[12]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ Words: Chris Antista, GamesRadar US. "Rock of Ages video – Full Access Preview, Rock of Ages Xbox 360 Previews". GamesRadar. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Bordeu, Edmundo (22 December 2010). "The 5 art periods in Rock of Ages". ACE Team. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
- ^ "Pebble of Time Dev Blog". 1 April 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
- ^ Fahey, Mike (1 April 2013). "Atlus' Fake Rock Of Ages Ripoff Gathers No Moss". Kotaku. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ "Rock of Ages for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Rock of Ages for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Rock of Ages for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive.
- ^ Tieryas, Peter. "Premios Machinima Inside Gaming 2011: Lo más destacado y lo que nos pareció". gamedynamo. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- ^ "Rock Of Ages 2 Is Rolling Onto The PlayStation 4, Xbox One, And PC". Siliconera. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
- ^ "Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder for Nintendo Switch". Nintendo. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Rock of Ages III: Make & Break delayed to July 21". Gematsu. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rock of Ages. |
- 2011 video games
- Racing video games
- Atlus games
- Marble games
- Sega Games franchises
- PlayStation 3 games
- PlayStation Network games
- Tower defense video games
- Unreal Engine games
- Video games developed in Chile
- Windows games
- Xbox 360 Live Arcade games
- Multiplayer and single-player video games
- Works set in castles